"Feng Che, do you need me to step in?" Caitlin asked.
She knew that if she joined the fray, the battle with the common fodder would be over in seconds.
"No, stay back for now and preserve your strength," Feng Che replied. "I'll let Zeraora and Torracat handle this. If it gets out of hand, I'll call for you."
Feng Che could practically see the mountain of experience points waving at him.
"Torracat, show them your power! Flamethrower!"
Torracat erupted with a massive surge of fire, transforming into a streak of heat that lunged at the Klinklang and Ferrothorn. The Toxic Spikes on the ground were incinerated instantly, filling the air with a pungent, metallic stench.
The Ferrothorn responded by launching a barrage of Pin Missiles from their spikes, while the Klinklang circled above, their gears interlocking and spinning at high speeds. Electrical arcs surged into their red gemstone cores, and they retaliated by firing their own Pin Missiles, each one electrified with golden sparks.
"After absorbing Moltres's embers, Torracat's body temperature can exceed 2000°C," Feng Che noted calmly. "Those pins will melt into slag before they even touch him."
As predicted, the incoming needles turned cherry-red and dissolved into molten iron before they could reach Torracat.
The Klinklang shifted tactics. Their gears whirred into a frantic, blurred rotation—Gear Grind combined with Charge. They became a spinning, electrified fortress of steel. Massive bolts of lightning struck the cavern walls, carving deep gouges and forming "snakes" of electricity that slithered toward Torracat.
Zeraora stepped forward. With a deep breath, she positioned herself in front of Torracat, acting as a lightning rod. The surging current was siphoned directly into her fur, replenishing her energy and making her glow with a fierce, radiant light.
Frustrated, the Klinklang launched their smaller secondary gears like high-speed projectiles. Seeing the storm of metal approaching, Torracat unleashed a white-hot blast of fire. The intense heat caused the small gears to lose their magnetism and structural integrity, sending them clattering harmlessly to the floor.
"That's the flaw with Klinklang. Without their secondary gears, they're like toothless tigers," Feng Che said.
Torracat followed up with a sea of flames, disabling the rank-and-file Klinklang and Ferrothorn. Only the Klinklang Leader and the Ferrothorn Leader remained standing, unfazed by the defeat of their subordinates.
"Torracat's flames are impressive," Caitlin remarked.
However, due to the level gap, the two leaders were able to suppress the heat. Whenever the flames got close, they used Gravity to snuff out the fire.
"If one Pokémon isn't enough, we use teamwork," Feng Che said, his eyes filled with the confidence of a Champion. "It's been a while since I challenged a Quasi-Elite with a group strategy."
"Come out, Frogadier, Alolan Vulpix, Vulpix, and Ivysaur!"
"Zeraora, if the Klinklang uses Thunderbolt, you handle the absorption. Frogadier and Alolan Vulpix, focus your combined attacks on the Klinklang. Vulpix and Torracat, focus on the Ferrothorn. Ivysaur, you're on support—keep everyone's health up with Grassy Terrain."
The Inner Nest
The Hydreigon ignored the sounds of battle. Her full attention was on the egg beneath her, which was now pulsing with a rhythmic white light.
CRACK.
A spiderweb of fissures appeared on the shell. With one final nudge from within, a small Deino tumbled out. It stumbled, sniffing the air for its mother's scent. Hydreigon let out a long, relieved breath.
Just then, a Swoobat flew in from the upper tunnels. It pulsed with a faint blue light, using its psychic connection to show the mother the live "broadcast" of the battle outside.
[Hydreigon: This human is formidable. And that young girl with him is already an Elite-level psychic.][Hydreigon: How is the summit holding up?]
Through the bat's eyes, she saw the poachers nearing the top of the mountain. Her Quasi-Elite sentinels were putting up a final, bloody resistance.
[Hydreigon: It's time. Tell the summit guards to retreat and save themselves. I've seen my child hatch; I am satisfied.]
The message was relayed. At the summit, the wild Pokémon suddenly let out a sharp cry and scattered into the winds.
"What?! Why are they retreating?" Rose asked, stunned. "They were fighting to the death a second ago!"
"Crap!" Kaiser's face turned ashen. "The summit is a decoy! The battle is happening below us! Move out! Everyone to the base of the mountain, NOW!"
The Nest
The mother watched as the blind Deino nudged a fragment of its shell.
[Hydreigon: Forgive me, little one. Seeing you born is the last thing I can do for you.][Hydreigon: You are too weak to survive the pack hierarchy, so I must choose your brother as the next leader. But I will choose a human to protect you instead.][Hydreigon: This boy... he is strong. If he can defeat my Ferrothorn and Klinklang without the help of the Elite psychic girl, it proves he has the strength to raise you. If he passes my test, I will entrust you to him.]
Feng Che, hearing this, tightened his focus. He could secure a Deino and a hoard of resources if he won this fight decisively.
Ivysaur's Grassy Terrain began to glow, covering the cavern floor in lush, healing greenery. The Ferrothorn leader launched a Seed Bomb, but Torracat intercepted it with a Flamethrower, causing it to detonate harmlessly in mid-air. The shockwave rattled the cave, but Caitlin quickly used her telekinesis to stabilize the falling rocks.
"Ferrothorn knows Self-Destruct. We need to be careful," Feng Che warned. "Frogadier, Rain Dance! Vulpix, Icy Wind!"
Frogadier summoned heavy, dark clouds within the cave. As the rain began to fall, drenching the steel-type leaders, the temperature plummeted, turning the moisture into a slick, freezing coating on their metallic bodies.